


Whispers in the Blood

by LightChaser



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Geisha, Boarding School, Bodyguard, Brothels, Central City, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirting, Gangs, Historical, Historical Fantasy, Historical References, Love, Mentioned BTS Member(s), New Family, Old School, Orphans, Post-War, School, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, War, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:15:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22503118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightChaser/pseuds/LightChaser
Summary: He was trying to start over again and the only way for him to achieve that is to leave his life behind. When he arrived to the new city he was just looking for a place to blend in, but instead he found himself falling (hard) for a Fox of the local school there. He was pulled in by her and found himself drawn back into his old life when his past came looking for him. Little did he know that he would try and fight for the life he was introduced to...but it wasn't for him to keep.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Original Female Character(s)





	Whispers in the Blood

He is riding in the cargo of a train. He didn’t have much money so he took what he could. He had to get away from the city, away from the master that wants his head. He stands at the door of the train car and looks at the scenery passing by quickly. He’s out in the country. It would’ve taken him days to get out this far, but it only took him hours to get this far. He looks back at his little bag and his sword and walks back over by it. He sits and leans back, just falling into a light sleep. The train finally slows down and comes to a stop. He hears footsteps on the gravel and the door opens with a slam.  
“End of the line for you, boy.” The surly man says. He looks at the man as he walks past. He stands up and walks to the door. The train station isn’t as grand as the big city, but it’s still beautiful, covered in purple flowers. He jumps down and slings his bag over one shoulder and holds the sword in his hand.  
He walks towards the platform and jumps up onto it and looks around. He wears black leather pants a white button up and a leather jacket with a fur collar. He came down from the far north.  
He sees a pretty woman in a light orange and pink hanbok. She smiles lightly and starts walking. He takes a few steps and stops seeing a ribbon and looks around and sees a pretty carved talisman. He picks it up and looks at it. It’s a dolphin jumping out of the waves. He looks around for the woman and walks through the station quickly, seeing her get in a vehicle and it drives away.  
He makes his way into the small city. There are all kinds of good things being cooked. It’s lunchtime and his stomach is growling hard. He sighs and keeps walking. There is a river going through the center of the small city, it looks like it’s made to be a park and stretches the length of the city. There are several bridges that arch over them. There are people pulled in rickshaws, but no cars. These are cobblestone streets. The concrete streets are on the other side of many houses. He stops and looks at a small little ramen booth. A woman smiles lightly.  
She sets a bowl of ramen down in front of a stool and holds her hand out to him. He looks around and then slowly walks towards the stool and sits down.  
“I have no money.” He says.  
“My grandfather would never allow anyone to go hungry, regardless of his inability to pay. Eat up. Second servings of noodles are on me.” She says. He takes the bag and the sword off. He starts eating and enjoys the taste of warmth going down his throat. He takes a deep breath in and then out.  
“This is really good.”  
She smiles lightly.  
“Naruki! Give me another beer.” A patron calls from inside. She walks inside and serves him before walking back out. There’s more of the restaurant inside. It looks like a nice little place to be.  
“Where do you come from, stranger?” she asks.  
“The city.” He takes a sip of the broth. It’s hearty and filling. It’s warming his belly. She smiles lightly.  
“Where in the city?” she asks.  
He swallows hard and looks at her. He has dusty blue hair, that looks almost black and black eyes. “Hokshin.” He says. She looks at him. That’s one of the largest cities to the north.  
“Are you a warrior?” she steps closer. “I have this fantasy that a warrior from the north comes and sweeps me off my feet and takes me from here.”  
He laughs lightly.  
“Life in the city isn’t as romantic as you think. It’s just congested and chaotic and people always seem to be struggling to eat. Smaller cities and towns are best, stay in the pond where you’re used to.” He says.  
She laughs lightly. “I can handle myself.”  
“You’re far too pretty for the big city anyway. You’d end up at one of the gambling houses as an entertainer.”  
Her eyes widen. “You mean one that entertains men…”  
“With her body.” He nods lightly. She blushes lightly.  
“I’ve never even kissed a boy.”  
“That would change in the city. Best stay here little koi. You’re safer here.” He suggests. She laughs lightly.  
“What’s your name?” she asks.  
“Ten.” He says. She smiles lightly.  
“I’m Naruki. I often work here to help out my grandfather. My father and mother run the school up the road.”  
“Yeah? What kind of school?”  
“Just a normal school.” He finishes his ramen.  
“Oh! There is the Lantern Academy just at the south edge of the city. It’s a very close knit community of women. They are all very beautiful and talented.” She says. He smiles lightly.  
“Sounds like entertainers to me.” He takes a drink of water.  
“You think so?” she asks. There is some giggling which makes them both look. A couple of little kids that look dirtier than he does. He smiles lightly.  
“Shoo. Don’t bother our patrons.” She says. He looks at her and then watches the kids walk away. “Sorry. They are orphans. War hit us hard.”  
“Hey!” Ten yells and runs after the kids who are running with his bag and sword. Naruki watches him chase the kids down the street through an alley and to the main road. He stops and looks around.  
They know the city better than he does. He sees one of them and chases him down and grabs him.  
“I don’t have it.”  
He lets him go and keeps walking. His eyes are very sharp, and he sees them down a side alley.  
“Hey!” he turns into the alley and runs after them. The kids yell and run. They drop some of his stuff. He picks it up and continues chasing after them.  
“Nuna!” they run into a garden and he follows them, but he stops, seeing a woman holding a kendo stick at him. They stand behind her. This is the same woman he saw on the platform.  
“Are these your kids?”  
“No, but we feed them sometimes.” She lowers the kendo stick. She must have been hanging laundry.  
“They took my bag and my sword.”  
She looks back at them. They hold the bag. She hits each one on the head with the kendo sword.  
“Give him his bag back and apologize to him.”  
They hand him his stuff.  
“Portis. Empty your pockets. That stuff is NOT yours.” She says. He takes three items out of his pocket and hands it over to Ten. He checks it all to make sure that it’s all there. “Where is Ngyuen?”  
“We’ll find him.” They head out. She takes a deep breath. He closes his bag and slings it on his shoulder.  
“I apologize for them. Since they lost their parents, they have no one but each other.” She says and turns around and returns to her task. Ten looks around the large garden.  
“How long do you think it’ll take for them to find my sword?”  
She laughs lightly. “Ngyuen has a little camp west of the city if you want to go there and get it back yourself, but since he pretty much looks out for all the kids of the city, he’s become something of the Robin Hood around here.”  
“He stole my sword. I don’t forgive such an offence.”  
She turns around. “You going to beat up on a kid, ronin?”  
“How…”  
She laughs lightly and grabs another piece of laundry and hangs it up. “Give them a few hours. They’ll have your sword back. You are free to hang around back here or come back later.” She says.  
“What did you say your name was?”  
“I didn’t. Just call me Oralee. It’s what everyone else calls me.”  
“Oralee?”  
She nods lightly.  
“Pretty name.” she smiles, and finishes hanging her laundry and picks up the basket. He watches her walk away. She has her hair up in a braid and wrapped like a crown around her head.  
She steps up onto the wood of the building and walks away, not looking at him. Ten can’t help but smile and walks out of the garden. He decides to explore the city a little bit more.  
There is a gambling house and a whore house. It seems to be run by the local gang family. They call themselves the King gang, but they are pretty laid back. They keep the peace and they don’t have too many run-ins with the law, which isn’t as corrupt as the bigger cities.  
“Hey, you look like a competent dude, want to join us?” a lower level member of the gang asks.  
“No thanks.”  
“You sure? You look like you would do pretty well with us.”  
Ten just keeps walking. Probably not the best thing to ignore them, but he wasn’t really wanting to get mixed in with yet another group. He was already on the run from another. The city doesn’t have many tall buildings, but the ones they do have are breathtaking. There are four of them. One is a finance building, a type of bank for the city. It houses millions and millions of dollars’ worth of gold. The other two are businesses. Then the last is owned by the Waverly family.  
He’s learning a lot while waiting. Hearing the older people talking while walking around the market. They give him little things to taste. He smiles and talks as though he were a local of the city.  
“I hope that Rachel gets here soon.” One of the older women says.  
“You know that she’s always running late. I swear that girl has her head in the clouds more than she does in her lessons.” The women laugh lightly.  
He looks curiously. It’s a group of three women that run a little bakery shop. They remind him of his aunts in the kitchen when he was younger always gossiping and laughing. He is drinking some complimentary tea.  
“Nani…we know she’ll never make it as a Fox. She is far too kind and sweet to be at the academy.” One of them says.  
“Yes, but Luche took her in when her parents were killed in the war.”  
The war…  
Ten was part of that war. It was something that involved a lot of the land. The government and the old ways, the old warlords were trying to keep hold of their lands and their ways. They involved assassin families and mafia families. Ten was part of an assassin family that was taken down and then he pledged allegiance to another to stay alive.  
The new government is trying to bring the land together, but as long as the four old families; Waverly, Orelia, Park and Yuta, are around there won’t be much peace. The four families are always fighting over territory. Waverly is the big name in these parts. To the north its Yuta and that’s who he was running from.  
He sighs lightly.  
“Yes, but she does well in her lessons. She may never be a Fox, but she’ll do as an Artisan. She has the ability to entertain people but not in the same capacity as a full Fox.” The third woman says.  
“Here you go sweetheart.” The older woman sets a plate of three little cakes down in front of him. He looks at her curiously. “You remind me of my grandson.”  
He smiles lightly and bows lightly and takes a bite. The cake melts in his mouth and is so delicious. The cake itself is soft and airy, it’s almost like it’s not there. The three women continue to talk and laugh. He listens to them and smiles lightly, enjoying their banter.  
“Where is that girl?”  
“Maybe I can help.” Ten offers. The woman looks at him.  
“Are you sure? You may not feel up to the task of interacting with those women.” She says. He smiles lightly.  
“It’s okay. I don’t mind helping.”  
“Okay. Well, if you could deliver these pastries to the Lantern Academy. Go through the back and go to the kitchen. You might and might not find Oralee.”  
The name piques his interest. They can tell he already spoke with her. He smiles and nods lightly. He finishes his cake and tea and wipes his mouth and hands and takes the box and grabs his bag. It’s about time for him to head back and get his sword.  
He bows again.  
“Thank you for your help, young man.”  
“No, thank you for the delicious tea and cake.” He walks away and makes his way back towards the same place he was just at a few hours ago.  
The walk seems peaceful. Like he’s been here all his life. He’s not looked at like a suspicious character, like back in the big city. He’s just a small town boy running an errand for his aunties. He smiles at the simple thought and finally comes to the entrance. He looks into the garden and it’s all quiet. He steps inside and walks around, looking for the kitchen. It seems to be separate from the rest of the building. There are about four women, mostly young talking and laughing. They wear shorts and simple shirts, but it looks like Oralee doesn’t dress down.  
“This is going to be a feast.” One of the girls says.  
“This is to test your skills, it’s not for you to pig out. Keep your mind in the game. You have to earn those points to get those things you want.” Oralee says.  
“We know.” The girls chime.  
Ten clears his throat.  
The four women gasp lightly. Oralee turns around and smiles lightly.  
“This is a delivery.” He says. She walks over to him and grabs it. The four young women look over at Ten. They are eyeing him up like a piece of beef jerky. He puts his hands in his pockets, feeling a little nervous like they are going to maul him. She walks back towards him with his sword.  
“I believe this is yours.” She holds it out to him. He nods and takes it and slips it across his chest.  
“Go take a cool shower and get ready for your performance.” She says to them.  
“I was told you might be here.” She looks at Ten and smiles lightly and steps down from the kitchen. It’s a mix of modern and old world. It looks like there is a feast happening.  
“Yes. I always help out our Okasan.” She says, standing close to him. She smells like a citrusy, sweet magnolia, but it’s not overpowering.  
“You bring in a lot of money?” he asks.  
“Yes.” She says. He smiles and steps away and turns around. “Thank you again…”  
He turns around, walking backwards. “Ten.” She smiles lightly. He gets the chills with that smile and heads out of the Lantern Academy.  
The night is very long, but he finds a place in an abandoned temple to sleep. It’s not a deep sleep. Just enough to allow his body to recover and his mind to heal. He is alert and listens to his surroundings. There is no one out there, but night animals, scurrying about for their meal.  
He wonders how much it would be to spend the night with her. What would he have to do to earn enough money to sleep with her for the night? Hell, he’d be happy just being in her presence, talking and enjoying her company. She seems like a wild eagle caught and leashed to be other’s entertainment.  
Little did Ten know that the Yuta family was making its way south, not just to find him and make him pay, but also to take over and get one step closer to conquering the capitol city.

Ten stretches and looks at the light coming in through the broken paper screen over the window. He stretches again and stands up. He makes his way out and decides to look for those three same old aunties and see if they need help. They were so kind to him. He wants to return the kindness. He spent his whole day helping them. It was nice to feel normal. They really are like his old aunties; he doesn’t remember the last time he laughed so much. He was helping with some mixing, wearing the only other apron they had left. It had ruffles and polka dots and its pink, but it doesn’t matter.  
“There you go. Use those muscles.” Nani says. She’s the oldest. They are sisters.  
Nani Theodore.  
Ariel Kim.  
Tinsel Akamoto.  
“Don’t you look posh in your polka dot apron.” He looks up and his eyes widen, and he smiles lightly, blushing. Oralee smiles lightly.  
“Oralee, don’t you look stunning. As usual.” Tinsel says. She smiles.  
“Thank you, Auntie Tinsel. Your pastries were a big hit last night.” She says. He sneaks a peek at what she wears. It’s a modern Hanfu dress, shortened, with ivory skinny jeans. Three of the young trainees and two of the young Artisans are with her.  
“I am glad.”  
“Taking some of the kids out on a class field trip?” Nani teases.  
“Hardly. They all want to do something special for the Autumn Festival, so here I am.” She says. The five are too busy ogling Ten. “Go get your supplies.” She says.  
“Aww, but nuna…!”  
“We want a piece of cake!” they all interject. She inhales slowly and crosses her arms. They take off.  
“We’ll never understand how you do that.” Ariel says. Oralee looks at Ten, who is looking at her. She winks lightly. He gets back to his mixing.  
“It’s a talent. Learn well from them, Ten. They are some of the smartest women around.” She says and walks away. He smiles and watches her walk away.  
“You like her.” Nani points out.  
“What? No!”  
“It’s okay.” Tinsel says.  
“She was nice to me, that’s all.”  
“Aww, a young man in love. I wish I had her skills.” Tinsel says.  
“They’d go to waste with you.” Nani states. Ariel laughs lightly.  
“I wish I’d had her body.” Ariel says.  
“That would go to waste in a pastry shop.” Ten points out. The two women laugh out loud. Ariel hits him lightly, playfully. He laughs.  
“Okay. Let me show you the next step.” Nani says. They walk to the back with the freshly made dough.  
A few hours go by, he finally got the whole story of the Lantern Academy and who these Foxes are. They are trained women, in arts, entertainment and fantasy. They can also kill with such accuracy. Oralee was the last of the actual Foxes whose skills were used in the proper way. Nowadays they are glorified escorts and prostitutes. They are often used at high society events.  
The Artisans are similar to Foxes, but they don’t sleep with certain clients. Lantern Academy is basically where the whole thing operates from. They teach the girls how to perform and entertain the crowds during festivals. They are seen as the ‘It’ girls of the city and are the fashionistas. Most of the girls were sold to the academy, but most joined because they wanted to join or they were taken in because of the war.  
Oralee is a legend in the city. She is beautiful, well known and gracious and kind. She has soothed beastly men and the King gang leader completely adores her, often spending nights with her, spoiling her with fancy presents and such.  
Ten has no chance.  
He sits down, completely downing a bottle of water.  
“Baking is a tough job, huh, ronin?”  
He looks and his eyes widen. She smiles lightly and sits down next to him. She crosses her legs, her foot touching his leg.  
“Still helping?” he asks. She nods lightly. “You’re a good nuna.” He says. She smiles lightly.  
“You must be making up for past aggressions.” She says, referring to helping the three women bake. He shrugs lightly.  
“They were kind to me. I am paying it back.” He says. She smiles lightly.  
“They’re like that with everyone. They probably look at you like their grandson.”  
He looks at her and laughs and nods. “Nani did say that.”  
She smiles. “That sounds like her.”  
“They admire you.”  
“Aw. I admire them.” She says lightly. He laughs and sees a very beautiful bracelet on her wrist. He takes her hand and looks at it. It is a pearl and sterling bracelet. “Pearls found from the beach a few miles from here. Jiyong picked them out of the water himself.” She says.  
“Is that the leader of the King gang here?” he asks, looking at her. She nods lightly.  
“You already know the name of our gang’s leader. I’m impressed.” She says. He smiles.  
“I make it my business to know.”  
“Oh? Are you going to be trouble for us, ronin?” she asks, leaning in closer, clasping his hand. He swallows hard, realizing he was flirting with a woman who was trained in the art of seduction.  
“No. Far from it. I want to get away from trouble.”  
“Oh? You want to be normal?” she leans in close, placing her hand on his thigh. He gasps lightly. “I would hardly call you normal, Ten. Judging by the sword, you are a master at your craft. Just like I’m a master at mine…” she moves back. He’s blushes and breathing hard.  
“Nuna…” they were watching the master at work. They are giggling and laughing as they walk away from him, following behind Oralee. He looks after her, still trying to catch his breath.  
Nani, Ariel and Tinsel are chuckling lightly. He looks at them, the blush apparent on his cheeks. He’s made many women blush back in his city, but he’s never met anyone like her. He laughs lightly.  
“I guess I may have—”  
“You are screwed.” Ariel finishes. They all laugh and tease him for a few minutes. They hear sounds and that makes Ten react and run outside of the market, seeing members of the Yuta getting out of their expensive cars.  
“You okay, Kailey?” Oralee asks. She nods. Had she not been pulled back; the first car would have hit her. “What the hell is wrong with you assholes? Don’t you see people walking around here?” Oralee asks. The men look at her and walks up to her and smacks her, knocking her back.  
“Nuna!” one of them yells. The men notice her and ignore Oralee on the ground and touch up the young women. They are scared. Oralee pinches the leg of the man who hit her in her leg and flips him. He’s knocked on his back and she kicks him just right to where his lung is punctured with her heel. He coughs and his lung fills up. The people walk away. She stands up.  
“Don’t worry, baby. We’re not afraid to hit a woman.”  
“Girls, go. Get back to the academy. Don’t stop.” She says. They nod and run. The men start to follow them, but are stopped by Ten. She watches him take them down.  
“Helpless women shouldn’t be your target.” He says. She looks over at him then at the other men. One of the men grabs Oralee and forces her to her knees. She struggles. Ten starts to move, but is punched in the gut. He goes down to one knee, but comes back up and knocks that man back. He watches Oralee bite the crap out of the hand of the man in front of her. He yells and moves away. Ten stops when he hears clapping and looks back.  
It’s one of the higher ups of the Yuta family. He’s seen his face and knows his reputation. It’s quite an evil reputation.  
“Gentlemen. Gentlemen. We are visitors to their beautiful city.” A calm voice says. The men back away.  
Oralee stands up. Ten walks over by her.  
“My name is Humphrey Dawn. What’s yours?” he asks, eyeing up Oralee. She spits in his face. Blood from the man’s hand and her spit drips down his moisturized face. He wipes the blood off and looks at it in his handkerchief. “I must apologize for the trouble my men caused you and your pretty ladies. They must be scared. If you tell me your name, I will come and give compensation personally.”  
“Go to hell.” She says.  
Humphrey smiles. “I’d rather like to send you to heaven.” He says. Ten stands in front of her. He looks at him. He laughs lightly. “Oh ho! Is this your little bodyguard? What is he gonna do to me?”  
“Take you men and leave.” Ten demands. “You’ve made enough of a scene already.”  
Humphrey looks around at the large crowd. They look like they’ll have no problems fighting new thugs trying to make a name in their city. He snaps his fingers and the men gather up their injured and one dead and head out. The three cars drive off. Some of the market people wash the blood off the ground.  
“Come on. I’ll get you back to the school.” He says.  
She smiles. “You don’t have to. I’m sure the aunties need your help.”  
“No we don’t!” Tinsel says. Ten smiles lightly.  
“You heard the woman.” He says. She laughs and concedes. They make their way back to the school, but they go through the front. It’s an imposing entrance. Classes were out so most of the trainees and Artisans were back in their rooms or one of the community rooms. The main part of the building, the classrooms and the entertaining rooms and the tearooms are quiet.  
“Oralee!” It’s the mother of the school, Luche. She smiles and is embraced warmly by her. “When Kailey and Thea told me about what happened, I was worried.” She says.  
“Yeah, I’m okay. Are they okay?”  
“Yes. They are. They told me that a handsome fighter helped them escape.”  
Oralee looks back at Ten. He bows politely at a ninety degree angle. Luche smiles and gives him a hug. He’s surprised at that and looks over at her. She shrugs lightly.  
“Thank you so much for helping my girls and Oralee out.” Luche backs up.  
“Of course. It was no problem.” Ten says.  
“On the contrary, it’s a big thing. I owe you big time for keeping my girls safe.” She says. “What can I offer for everything you’ve done for me?”  
He looks over at Oralee.  
He swallows hard, but after thinking about it he looks at Luche…  
“You don’t have to pay me back at all. It was my pleasure.” He says and starts to walk away. Luche grabs his arm. He looks back at her. She’s a forceful woman. Oralee laughs lightly.  
“Work for me. It doesn’t pay much, but you get room and board here and you have skills so you can keep them sharp here.” Luche offers.  
What would he say to the aunties? They were so sweet to him. He looks back at Oralee. She shrugs lightly.  
“Please. You can keep my girls safe.” Luche pleads. Ten finally nods.  
“I want to finish helping the aunties today though.” He says. Luche smiles lightly and nods.  
“Of course. Those old biddies would never let me hear the end of it.”  
Oralee laughs lightly.  
He finishes his day out helping the aunties and a room is prepared at the sprawling Lantern Academy for him. When he arrives, he is greeted by the Seven Color Guards of the school. They give him a tour of the vast grounds, including the forbidden women’s space. No one is allowed there, not even the other guards. The only ones allowed to protect that area are the Foxes. There are a total of two-hundred students and only twenty of them are full Foxes. Oralee is the last that fought during war. While they are not allowed back in the women’s area, there is the training fields where the Foxes in training work with the bodyguards.  
The rooms above the main space are the entertaining rooms for the Foxes. No guest has stayed overnight, they’ve all been escorted off the property at three in the morning, including Jiyong, the leader of the Kings.

The next several days pass in peace. Ten gets closer to Oralee. He laughs with her when he is out escorting her while she is doing her duties. He even brings her to the King house when she is visiting Jiyong. It doesn’t really bother him, but it does. He looks at the gambling house and walks away to go visit the aunties, but he’s distracted by the Yuta’s. They never left. They are trying to establish themselves in the city and trying to hustle a restaurant owner. Ten decides that he won’t let that happen and walks over to the little restaurant.  
“Hey, what the hell?!” one of the men yells when Ten knocks the cup out of his hand while he was drinking. The man stands up.  
“We pay for what we’ve eaten in this city.” Ten says. He’s smaller against the three ruffians but he knows he can take them.  
“We don’t have to pay for anything.”  
“Then you shouldn’t be eating like pigs.” Ten says.  
“I’ll carve you up like a pig!” one of the men says and charges, but Ten takes care of him quickly, knocking him on the ground. He doesn’t want to cause too much damage to the restaurant, he knows it’s someone’s livelihood.  
“Just so you know, everything you break goes on your bill.” Ten says.  
The first man he encountered flips their table over. The couple of waitresses cower in the kitchen with the owner and his wife. The man charges Ten, without even wielding his weapon he knocks the man on his back. He unsheathes the sword and points it at the man.  
“That’s going to cost you big. I hope you have some money in that knockoff suit of yours.” Ten says. The man, with a quivering hand pulls out a large wad of cash and holds it out to Ten who takes it. “Get you and your men and leave the city. You’re not wanted here.” He says. The three men leave the restaurant, their tails between their legs.  
Ten walks outside and watches them get in one of the black cars and it drives away. He holds his sword and sighs lightly. He doesn’t know how much longer they’ll stick around.  
“Thank you so much, sir.” The owner says. Ten looks back at him and smiles.  
“You can call me Ten.” He says. The owner smiles and bows, shaking his hand. Ten laughs lightly and bows back.  
“I don’t think they’ll be back.” He says.  
Ten slowly gets the reputation as the people’s Ten. Fighting against the Yuta as they slowly take over the city.  
The biggest news that spread around the city is when Humphrey Dawn muscled his way into the King gang’s gambling house and took it over, essentially taking it over and chasing them out of the city. Jiyong and his remaining crew weren’t fools though. They spent their lives in this city and no new idiots were going to upstage them. They make their way to the Waverly Tower where they are trying to plan how to get them out of their city.

A few more days pass at the academy, Ten is supposed to be on break, but he’s with Oralee in the kitchen. She is making something for the guards to eat. He decided to help her out. He can’t believe that she cooks all this for them, once a month.  
“Want a taste?” she asks. He stands up from his chopping and peeling and comes and takes a taste of the sauce. It tastes really good. He takes the spoon out of her hand and sets it down and cups her cheek and kisses her. She is pressed against the counter. He wraps his arm around her waist and sticks his tongue in her mouth. His body is tingling, especially when she wraps her arm around his neck.  
He kisses down her jaw to her neck and runs his hand down her waist and cups her butt and lifts her leg to wrap around him. How long had he hungered for her?  
“Ten!” Namjoon yells.  
He moves away from Oralee. Her lipstick is smeared all over his lips.  
“Go to the showers.” He says. He bows and heads out, grabbing his sword and running towards the showers.  
“You delight in torturing the news guys, don’t you?” Oralee asks.  
“I could ask you the same thing. He’s here to protect you, not indulge in his desires.”  
“Well, what about mine, Joonie?” she teases. He scoffs and walks away. She laughs and finishes cooking for the guards. The food is brought into their large dining hall for the guards and they are served. She looks around.  
“Where’s Ten?” she asks.  
“I think he’s in the hot spring.” Jimin states. She bows politely and walks out. Instead of walking back towards her dorm, she heads over to the hot spring. It’s not co-ed, so whenever it’s occupied others are supposed to wait. She walks into the changing room and slips out of everything, but the flimsy slip of her short Hanfu dress. She sneaks into the large hot spring space and finds him relaxing over by the rock waterfall. She steps into the water and makes her way over by him. He is trying to relax, but he can’t stop thinking of her.  
He can just feel her kissing his neck and licking it and nibbling it. Feeling her hands run along his body. He is getting aroused, feeling her hand touching him and stroking him. He moans softly and his eyes flutter and he falls under the water. She laughs lightly when he surfaces, taking a couple steps back.  
“What’re you doing here? You’re going to get us both in trouble.” He says, backing away as she slowly walks towards him. She slowly removes the slip, pulling it up and over her head and dropping it on the water. He swallows hard, watching her still walking closer to him.  
“What’s wrong, Ten? I felt how aroused you were. Can’t tell me it was all in my imagination.”  
He shakes his head. “It wasn’t, but…”  
“But nothing.” She smiles when he stops and can’t move anymore. He looks at her and swallows hard.  
“I don’t want to get into trouble.” He says, covering himself as she gets closer. She grabs his hands and moves them away to get closer to him. He enjoys her playful, teasing kiss and when she sucks on his lip, he succumbs to her and wraps his arms around her.  
“You are going to get me kicked out for sure.” He says and kisses her deep. She enjoys his kiss, running her fingers through his wet hair and down his back. He turns and lifts her out of the water a little and presses her against the smooth wall where water is falling. He trails his tongue around her nipple and flicks his tongue over the hard nipple. He takes it in his mouth and sucks on it, making her moan. He massages the other with his hand. She’s mostly out of the water, his arms supporting her. He looks up at her, the water runs over her body and he lifts her up, her legs dangling over his shoulders. He licks and kisses her entrance. She gasps and moans, feeling his tongue against her sweet spot.  
“Ten.” She groans. He keeps going, his hands on her abdomen. Her feet press against his back as he keeps pressing, more and more, licking and kissing her. She is breathing hard, even as the steam comes off the surface of the water, she can feel the cool air descend. She grips his hair, feeling her muscles twitching and the buildup in her gut. It’s making her feel all kinds of way. Her body starts rolling. He pressing against her more, to hold her in place.  
She whimpers. He smiles and swirls his tongue around her sweet spot, making her moan and then he sucks on it and she groans, and her body bucks and she releases, her essence drips.  
He slowly lets her down. She wraps her arms around him, her eyes filled with lust for him. He smiles lightly.  
“Your eyes changed.”  
She smiles. “Fuck me, Ten.” His body heat spikes at those words and lifts her out of the water. “Ten…”  
“Not here.” He says and walks back to the building. She tries to object, and he turns around, pushing her up against the wall of the building and kisses her hard and demanding. She moans, feeling him against her. “Not. Here. I’d rather get back to my quarters and have my way with you all night than run the risk of being caught.” He says, his voice is deep. She nods. He walks, pulling her into the room. She completely forgets about the slip. He grabs his clothes and wraps a towel around himself. She slips the dress on. He walks back to his room. He got his own room, away from the other guards, because there was no other space. It was an old Hanok style room, which he thought looked really cool. There were plenty of these type of buildings on the grounds. He closes the door as she steps in. He looks at her and stands behind her and strips her. She enjoys feeling his hands on her. Even though she’s still reeling from the first time, she wants him inside her. She wants him.  
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. From the moment I laid eyes on you.” He whispers, touching her, making her moan and rub her body against him. She’s still sensitive, but he’s going to push her past that.  
“Ten…” she whines. He smiles and kisses her cheek.  
“What’s the matter, baby? Now that you got a taste of me, you can’t get enough?” he asks. She growls lightly. He smiles and plays with her a little bit more, one hand between her legs and the other massaging a breast while he kisses her neck and sucks on it lightly.  
He feels her getting weak and brings her over to the bed and lies her down. He removes the towel he wrapped himself in and comes in and enters her swiftly, she gasps, throwing her head back. She grabs his arm as he just pounds into her. He’s already lost in his desire.  
His lust was overwhelming. He held out for this long. He just wanted this. To be in a bed, having sex with her. He holds her hips as he goes as fast as he can. She reaches down and touches herself. He smiles at this beauty, going to pieces on his bed.  
He keeps going, watching her. She whimpers softly. Her toes curling.  
“Ten…” she gets out, her voice vibrating in time with his pounding. She can’t help it. He is feeding her desire. Her fingers go faster, tracing around her sweet spot. He joins her hand. She looks at him. He smiles a seductive smile.  
He’s so close to just cumming inside her and filling her with his seed. Their positions be damned. He’s never wanted to claim a woman so bad as he does her. He wants her to carry his children and he wants her to continue to hunger for him. He leans forward and meets her in a passionate, hungry kiss. She scratches down his back. It’s a delicious pain to him, his body shivers at the action.  
“Baby…I’m gonna—” he doesn’t finish and releases into her. He keeps moving his fingers and kisses her neck and everything. She grips his hair, as he licks her neck. He moves down and on the top of her left breast he gives her a love bite. She moans and her body tries to move, but he’s lying against her.  
“Ten…” She takes a deep breath. He finishes marking her.  
“You’re mine, Ora. No other man you sleep with will ever satisfy you the way I will.” His kiss is possessive.  
“You can’t own a whore, Ten.” She says. He smiles and nuzzles her neck. “It’ll be our own little secret.” She looks at him. He smiles lightly and kisses her again. He can’t get enough of her. She was amazingly sexy and delicious, made his blood run hot and to the boiling point and now, he wants to make sure that no one hurts her.  
After a couple of minutes, they finally uncouple. He lies on his side, looking at her. She lies on her stomach. Her long dark brown tresses just inhale the light. He leans in and kisses her again, a sweet and gentle kiss. She enjoys it.  
“Ten…”  
“Mm?”  
“Why did you come here? Were you a scout, because after you arrived the Yuta arrived.” She asks.  
He looks at her and he’s a little more alert. “No. Not at all. I’m running from them. I didn’t know they were going to come here.”  
“I know your reputation, Ten. You really think that someone of your caliber would be unknown outside of your city?”  
“Ora?” he starts. She sighs lightly and looks down at her hands. He moves closer to her, hugging her close. “My past is my past. It doesn’t define who I am.”  
“A leopard doesn’t change his spots, Ten. You and I, both, know that our true natures cannot be quenched.”  
He swallows hard.  
“I promise you that I am loyal to you and this city.”  
“Would you die for this city?”  
He nods. “Yes. I would. In a heartbeat. I would return to my roots to rid the city of the Yuta once and for all. I want to make love to you every single night.” He kisses her. She laughs lightly, they are playful.  
“Ten!” she laughs.  
“Love me, Oralee!” he yells, being playful. She laughs.  
The lights finally go out in Ten’s room.

His words would be true. He would do all he can to rid the city of the Yuta menace, starting with Humphrey Dawn’s people. While the King gang was having a hard time getting rid of them, Ten knew their weaknesses. He wanted to prove to Oralee that he had no allegiances to them. He would not be jealous of other men screwing his woman, because he knew that she would always go weak for him.  
Sneaking to his room after entertaining with the other trainees and Artisans, he would prove his love for her. He knew when she was doing her other work, she didn’t come to visit him. That’s when he would work the third shift and would walk past the women’s area. He got pretty close to the other guards.  
Luche is the second headmistress of the Lantern school. It was originally supposed to pass to Oralee, but she wanted to work instead. He didn’t know that she was the heiress of the Lantern Academy, no wonder she had such freedom.  
Ten’s reputation for the city’s protector quickly reaches back to Hokshin where the head of the Yuta and the three lower bosses are now intrigued. One of them is steaming.  
“Let me take care of this, sir. I think I know what’s going on.” He says.  
“Settle it once and for all. This city is the gateway to the capitol. We conquer them there is nothing standing between us and the capitol.” The head boss says. The lower boss bows and leaves. He’ll settle Ten once and for all.

Ten is a guard at the door as the Lantern Academy is holding its annual Falling Leaves Party. He is trying to keep his mind on his work, but he keeps looking back at Oralee. She looks so beautiful in the rich, colorful kimono. She smiles and laughs lightly. She is with Jiyong.  
Even though Jiyong and the rest of the King gang have been reduced in numbers they sought refuge here in the academy, but Jiyong has been trying to seek help with the Waverly family and seeing if he can get the remnants of the Lantern family to help save their city.  
“Don’t get too jealous. She may choose him over you. You’re just a lowly bodyguard.” He looks over at Yoongi and takes a deep breath and nods lightly.  
He wasn’t jealous, but he can just see how openly Jiyong is with his affection towards her. Hanging on her, giving her kisses and touching her hand. He would love to show her that kind of affection out in the open. He sighs lightly and looks out at the sky. The sun is setting, but there is a cool wind coming and he can feel it.  
“Ten, can you go patrol for me? Jimin and Bambam are on break.” Namjoon asks. He nods and walks away from his spot and heads out. He is walking along the outer halls of the school, checking the doors and looking out at the grounds.  
“What’re you doing?”  
He looks and his eyes widen.  
“Oralee. What’re you doing here?” he asks.  
“Wandering around.” She says. He laughs when she pushes him against the wall and undoes his shirt.  
“Ora. We can’t.” he grabs her hands. She looks at him. Her eyes are sparkling like jewels. Like pale blue jewels. “Alright, but quiet.” He says. She smiles and undoes his pants and runs her hands up his torso slipping off the shirt, it flutters onto the floor. She kisses and licks his chest and slowly moves down his torso, teasing his nipple, making him bite his lower lip. She kneels in front of him and teases the tip with her tongue. He watches her through heavy eyelids.  
“Don’t tease me too long, Ora.” He says softly. She presses her tongue in his slit, making him groan out hard. He covers his mouth; she takes him in her mouth and sucks him hard and fast. He drops his head back, enjoying the sudden buildup in his abdomen. He can feel his leg muscles twitching.  
“Ora, baby…” he groans. She slowly pulls her mouth off him. He whines and watches her stand up, pulling him into a kiss. She wraps her hand around him and jerks him. He wraps his hand around hers, his breathing is almost in time to her ministrations. This is getting him hotter by the second. He wants to pound into her. She kisses down his chest and sucks on his nipple, making him groan and rest his head against the wall.  
He is fighting his instincts to touch her. He doesn’t want to leave a single mark on her. She is working right now, but damn she is getting him boiling hot. His body bucks and he feels himself twitch in her hand and release. It drips down his torso. He catches his breath. He looks at her and wants to just ravage her, but he fights the urge and lets her walk away after another kiss. He takes a deep breath and fixes his pants and picks his shirt up. He slips it back on and finishes making his rounds. He comes back to his spot and looks around. This time he made sure that there was nothing on his face or anything that would give it away.

Within a matter of days, the lower boss of the Yuta family, Kingsley Gray arrives to the city of Seojun and he can see what would draw Ten here. He’s such an easy fellow to read. No matter what he tries to do, his nature is to fight, and the Yuta will always find him and report back to him. He’ll never be free of his sins. They stay on the downlow, so as not to alert Ten and have him run. While Kingsley is here for the head of the Yuta family, he is more here for his own honor. He’ll teach Ten to mess with him again. The evening is getting late and the city is taking on its evening colors.  
“Ten’s a smart man. He’ll have learned the ebb and flow of the city and learned how to hide inside of it.” One of his men says.  
“Sniff him out.” He says.  
They nod and three of them head out. He stands on the balcony of the hotel room and looks at the city. It’s a large city, but not as big as Hokshin. He can see why they call it the gateway to the capitol. It’s a beauty of old and new. Four tall modern buildings, but with many old world charms and still many old villas and houses. There are only five main thoroughfares for modern vehicles to drive through.  
He wants to learn the city as quickly as Ten did. There was no one like Ten in the whole Yuta family. He was a rare specimen. He learned things so quickly and would devise plans and strategies for them. He could have done so well in the Yuta family, but he didn’t…

The next several days were filled with training and lessons. Ten’s been busy learning the history of the city and the school. How the Foxes came into being. They came from the Lantern family’s women warriors that always helped to protect the land surrounding their ancestral home that is part of the reason why the Lantern Academy exists in the city it does. He looks around. This is the ancestral land of the Lantern family. He sighs lightly and looks in the scrolls. There isn’t much history of children being born into the family. They are adopted and raised in the ways of the Lantern family techniques. He leans back and thinks lightly.  
“What’re you thinking about?” he looks and smiles lightly.  
“Just learning about my home.” He says. She grabs the scrolls. He tries to stop her, but she moves away from him.  
“These are my family scrolls.” He looks at her. She looks at him. “Why are you looking at these?”  
“I was just curious.” He says.  
“My mother thought it was a good idea to train women how to fight to protect their land, but to also teach them how to use the charms they already possess. I was a small child when I was adopted and brought to the school. I was raised here, and I know nothing but this school.”  
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” She rolls the scrolls back up and ties them. She wears a beautiful black and dark blue hanbok. He gets up from the chair and walks up behind her and wraps his arms around her. She enjoys his kisses. He undoes the jacket.  
“Ten!” she says and moves away from him.  
“What?” he laughs lightly.  
“Not right now. We have a very important guest coming.”  
“What about when you wanted to at the Falling Leaves thing?” he asks.  
“That was different.” She says.  
“How?” he asks, laughing, pulling her someone quieter and a little more intimate.  
“Don’t make a mess of the clothes.” She concedes.  
He smiles. “You won’t be wearing any.” They find a little sitting area and he starts taking her dress off. She grabs his wrist. “Why are you stopping me?” he asks.  
“You can’t help me get dressed. What would the seamstresses say?”  
“You’re right.” He turns her around and lifts the dress up and lowers the underclothes. He does take the jacket off. She gasps, feeling his fingers assaulting her. She moans and rests her head against the wall…  
Ten walks out of the library a half an hour later and then she follows. He has to head to his patrol. She walks out, fixing her clothes to make sure he didn’t make a mess.  
“You’re lucky.” She looks up at the pink-haired Fox holding out a small makeup kit. She smiles and takes it.  
“Thanks. So, who is our guest?” she asks.  
“From what I understand they are outsiders. Luche and Won Joong couldn’t find much on them.” Oralee sighs lightly.  
“That’s not good when Won Joong can’t find anything. She’s pretty good at that.” The woman nods. They are walking towards the main building. “What about you, Jul?”  
“Not a damn thing. These people seem to have come in under the veil of darkness.” She says. They start walking towards the building, but Jul goes towards the other building for lessons.  
Oralee doesn’t know that this is one of the lower bosses of the Yuta family and the one who wants Ten dead. She looks back at Bambam who smiles lightly, and he stands guard.  
“You have very handsome guards.” Kingsley Gray says to Oralee.  
“Just because their handsome, doesn’t mean they’re incapable of doing their job. They’re also not the only ones capable of protecting Seojun.” She pours the tea. The couple of men are eyeing up the couple of trainees and Artisans. They want to ruin them. One of them sticks his tongue out at her suggestively. Her eyes widen and she looks away. Bambam notices and that makes Oralee see and throws tea right at the man. It burns his face. He screams and yells. She gets up and kicks him in the ribs.  
“Make another lewd gesture at one of these girls again and you’ll be able to suck your own dick.” She threatens. “Bambam, get them out of here.”  
He nods and escorts the girls out. She looks back at Kingsley, he’s chuckling lightly.  
“You’ll have to leave. Teach your men how to behave and you can return.” She starts to walk out. He grabs her arm. She looks at him.  
“You intrigue me. How much is it to have you for the night?”  
She smiles lightly. “Your life.” She pulls out of his grip and walks out of the room. There are four guards there ready to get him and the men out of the school. Kingsley is turned on by Oralee. She doesn’t take crap from disrespectful guests.  
He wants her.

The days would pass. The Yuta family’s presence is finally noticed by the Waverly family and the police forces. The police try and tell them to please leave, but four of their men are killed and then the Waverly try their hand and they are dealt with swiftly. Ten knows that Kingsley has some of his assassins here as well. He has to tell the school and the guards to be prepared, but before that can even happen the news blares with the takeover of Waverly Tower by Kingsley Gray. That’s when they see Oralee on television. Ten tries to rush out of the school, but Luche stops him. He has to put everything on the table.  
“You mean we had a real mafia man in our midst?” Jul is excited. Ten nods lightly.  
“I was just low on the rung though.” He says.  
“Luche!” Jiyong storms in. They all look back. They are over that fact and are onto listening to Ten’s story.  
“Late to the party JiJi.” Won Joong says.  
“I’ll get her back.” Ten says and walks away. They all watch him walk out of the building. He has to make this right. He should have been more diligent in dealing with them. Had he just been a man Kingsley would never have known and taken Oralee. He knows that he won’t make it out alive, but if she does…that’s all that matters.  
He makes his way through the city towards Waverly Tower. The people back at the academy are still reeling from the fact that Ten was part of the Yuta family and that he was shagging Kingsley’s wife and knocked her up, which is why he was on the run. He won’t allow Kingsley to touch her.  
Not her…  
He is looking up at the tall tower.  
“This way, Ten.” He follows without even thinking. The Color Guard; Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook followed behind him. They will help him get one of their Foxes back.  
“What kind of family would we be if we didn’t back up our brother?” Taehyung says. Ten smiles and they make their way up the back stairs towards the top stairs. Ten is only thinking of all the things that Kingsley could be doing to her. Just to get back at him for doing to his wife.  
“You goddamn bitch!” a loud voice yells.  
“That’s our Oralee.” Jin says and looks. He can see four of Kingsley’s men guarding the outer offices. Ten looks and sees a back way to bypass them. He removes the over jacket and moves. Jungkook follows behind as well as Hoseok. Taehyung throws something that distracts them and allows the three men past the outer office and into the inner office.  
Kingsley nurses his scratches. She watches him, guarded by three men. She is not afraid of them. All she has to do it get one of their weapons and take them down. She will bide her time, but she will not have an ape of a man touch her. She belongs to Ten and only he will do.  
“You must be Ten’s whore. He only likes the prettiest ones.” Kingsley finally speaks.  
“What makes you think Ten is even at our school?”  
“You must know him.”  
“He helps our city. We owe much to him.” She says. Kingsley stands up and walks towards her. The men move away. She slowly backs up, ready to attack him again.  
“He’s not a good man. Do you know what he did? Back in his home?”  
“He knocked up your pretty little trophy wife, but if you were any kind of man, you’d have made sure your wife was well satisfied in that area. I understand though, most older men cannot compare to a younger man’s stamina.”  
His face visibly changes. His ego is wounded. He slaps her hard, knocking her down. He grabs the back of her hair.  
“I will claim you as mine.”  
“Better kill me, because if you don’t, I will slit your throat from ear to ear.” She says.  
“I love a tough woman.” He picks her up and slams her against the wall. She fights him and bites his lip. He yells but doesn’t stop trying to have his way with her. He only stops when he feels a sword at his throat.  
“Ahh. Ten. It’s been a long time since I felt the taste of that steel.”  
“Let her go.” He says. He lets her go. She knees him in the balls. Ten laughs lightly. The door opens.  
“Come on, Oralee.” Jin says. She nods.  
“Ten…” Kingsley says. He stops and looks back. “I lost my wife because of you. I had to kill her because of you.”  
He swallows hard.  
“I couldn’t have her carrying the child of one of my men.” He says. Oralee grabs Ten’s sword out of his hand and is ready to strike.  
“Ora!” Ten stops her. She looks back at him. He shakes his head. She looks at him and walks back and hands him the sword. He takes it and hugs her close and pushes her out of the room and locks it.  
“Ten!” she bangs on the door.  
“Get her out of here! If you guys are my brothers, get her out of here!” he yells from the other side of the door. They will take down the Yuta family’s men while they head out.  
“It’s just you and me now Kingsley.” Ten says.

They all wait at the Lantern Academy to hear from Ten, but they hear nothing. Jiyong is watching the tower when something falls from the top floor. He and his crew go to scope it out. They see Ten and Kingsley on the ground. Kingsley is dead, but Ten is coughing hard. Jiyong comes to his side and kneels down by him.  
“What happened?”  
“It was the only way.” He gets out.  
The five of them stay with Ten so that he is not alone when he dies.  
“Do me a favor…” Jiyong nods lightly. “Make sure Ora is never alone. That she never feels that sting of loneliness.” He gets out.  
“You got it…brother.”  
Ten smiles and closes his eyes. His body goes limp. Youngbae and Seungri find something to carry his body back to the academy. They make it just inside the main entrance of the school when Oralee comes running through the building. Everyone is freaking out at what is going on. Jul and Won Joong is confused as to what happened and Jiyong can’t really answer. She kneels next to his body, crying hard on his chest, she grips her fist hard, grabbing some of his shirt in her fist as well. She is prepared to do it when Won Joong touches her hand on her shoulder. She just cries softly. She didn’t want to lose him so soon.  
Namjoon turns his back on everyone. Jin comforts him as tears roll down his cheeks. Yoongi crosses his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground. Luche sniffles and cries softly.  
Seojun is washed by a cooling rain.  
Winter comes and Oralee leaves Lantern Academy soon after burying Ten on her family’s ancestral lands. She was beginning to show. Jiyong was taking her back to his hometown to prepare.

The city changed over the ages. It was left alone by the seeds of time. Untouched by foreign men; its population fluctuated; rose and shrank over the years, but a couple of places never changed. The school, the four towers and the market. She sits on the stairs of the Lantern Academy, looking out at the city. The view is still very beautiful, a sucker in her mouth. She wears black skinny jeans with skulls spray painted on them and a G-Dragon t-shirt with a large hoodie. There are all kinds of symbols on it. She has a katana next to her with a ribbon tied on it with a dolphin stone talisman sitting on the stone stairs next to her. The wind blows, it’s a wintery wind.  
‘You will have the chance to live beyond the school’s walls…’

End

© October 24, 2019


End file.
